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Bell: Coaches need quality quarterbacks more than experience

Maybe the next Sean Payton is right there to be had as the next hotshot NFL coach. If you heard Jon Gruden rave about Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer (a former Payton assistant) on Monday night, perhaps he's the guy, given his collaboration with coach Marc Trestman in reviving the Bears offense. Maybe O-coordinators such as Greg Roman (San Francisco 49ers), Pep Hamilton (Indianapolis Colts) or Darrell Bevell (Seattle Seahawks) or long-overdue D-coordinator Mike Zimmer (Cincinnati Bengals) will turn out to be head coaching gold.

Yet barring a change of heart by team owner Bob McNair, the next Houston Texans coach won't come from such a crop.

He's looking for experience.

Excluding interim situations, just seven of the current coaches had prior NFL head coaching experience before they were hired. But McNair is poised to go against the grain because he's convinced his franchise is not in a rebuilding mode.

It won't be a learn-on-the-fly type of deal.

That's understandable, to a degree. Being an NFL coach is so much more than X's and O's and news conferences. There's always some crisis, some fire to put out.

Remember, the Bill Belichick who is destined for the Hall of Fame was not thought of so highly when he coached the Cleveland Browns. He learned. He became a better coach.

And he got a big-time quarterback, too, with the New England Patriots.

The Texans' list includes Lovie Smith, Ken Whisenhunt and David Shaw. And interim coach Wade Phillips will get an interview, too.

Whisenhunt, who as San Diego Chargers O-coordinator has helped Philip Rivers rebound, took the Arizona Cardinals to a Super Bowl but flamed out after Kurt Warner retired.

Shaw, a former NFL assistant, helped Andrew Luck develop and has since guided Stanford to back-to-back Rose Bowl berths.

Phillips, a 3-4 innovator, was replaced as Dallas Cowboys coach by his former O-coordinator, and Dallas is still the same old .500 operation.

Smith, a defensive whiz from the Tony Dungy tree, could never get his offense together with the Bears and was fired after winning 10 games in 2012. He might cringe when seeing the injury-depleted Chicago defense now, but look at that Bears offense.

In any event, the most essential factor for the Texans moving forward will be the quarterback. That's the ticket. Ultimately, for a franchise that once drafted David Carr No. 1 overall and saw the Pro Bowl skills of Matt Schaub run out, quarterbacking will determine the success of the next coach, whether he comes with experience or not.

It's an attractive job. Classy McNair is one of the NFL's strongest owners. There's a passionate fan base (hey, it's Texas). The defense is anchored by J.J. Watt.

But it's mediocre without a quarterback.

Payton has Drew Brees. Belichick has Tom Brady. Shanahan once had John Elway.

Andy Reid immediately rebuilt with Alex Smith on the Kansas City Chiefs. Reid's replacement with the Philadelphia Eagles, innovative Chip Kelly — who came with no NFL experience but is a coach of the year candidate — has orchestrated the blossoming of Nick Foles.

Sure, it goes hand-in-hand with good coaching. Brees wasn't the same during Payton's one-year suspension. Brady might not have gone to five Super Bowls without Belichick.

In this day and age of pass-happy football, the coach-quarterback dynamic has to be the driving criteria.

Complete teams matter, with a rock-solid defense relieving pressure on the quarterback.

But it starts at quarterback.

The Texans want to find out about Case Keenum over these final three games.

And soon enough they'll confirm their new coach needs a franchise quarterback.

Keenum wasn't even drafted when he came out of the University of Houston as a system passer with a suspect arm. But at 2-11, the Texans have the conditions for due diligence.

And the new coach could also have the No. 1 pick in the draft, which would invite the tantalizing prospect of teaming Jadaveon Clowney with Watt — while landing the quarterback later in the draft or on the NFL veteran market.

McNair has hired two coaches. He went with a defensive coach the first time in Dom Capers and then tried offense with Gary Kubiak. Neither approach got him the championship he desperately desires.

But if the next coach is teamed with a big-time quarterback, they will have a chance.

That needs to be the No. 1 criteria behind the next move.

POWER RANKINGS: McNair's Texans bring up the rear

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